Qiandao Lake has a lot of top-notch photographers. And because of the beautiful landscape gifted by nature, great photos are produced endlessly. Today, we are going to know Zhang Wei, a master who loves photographing birds. Let's see from his own words how he roams through the picturesque landscape after work and takes pictures of the beautiful creatures inhabiting the shores of Qiandao Lakes.
It was in 2015 that I really got into photographing wild birds.
I remember that was a rest day when I was shooting sunset scenes in Baixiangwan Wetland, a kingfisher suddenly stopped somewhere not far from me. I was instantly attracted by its beautiful feathers. When I got home and enlarged it on my computer, it looked so gorgeous! Then I found in a WeChat group that there was a lecture on techniques to photograph wild birds. I went there by bus to listen to it. The lecturer was Mr. Zhang Yong, the vice chairman of the West Lake Photography Association. In addition to bird photography, he also talked about how to watch and protect birds. It was very useful and I learned a lot.
In recent years, I have used my spare time to photograph more than 40 kinds of birds living in Qiandao Lake. I have taken photos of cattle egrets at Xiangmo Lake, Longchuan Bay, Jiangjia Town, grey herons at Qinkengyuan in Nonglin Village, Danzhu Town, kingfishers at Wangzhaiyuan, and black-eared kites and egrets at Shibawu and Anyang Wetland.
When photographing birds, I always stick to the principles of not baiting, chasing or scaring them. I remember once at Shibawu, I hid myself in a camouflaged tent to take pictures of egrets. When I was about to leave, I saw through the small window of the tent a grey-headed lapwing squatting by the roadside motionlessly. I quietly zoomed in to take a closer look. There were several eggs under it so it should be hatching its young. I waited for over 2 hours in the tent in order not to disturb it.
Walk in the picturesque landscape of Qiandao Lake. When there are birds in sight, I will take photos. With no birds in sight, I will wait and meanwhile enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Nonglin Village in Danzhu Town, along the small creek of Qinkengyuan into the lake, is a long but narrow reservoir bay of Qiandao Lake. It is inhabited by hundreds of grey herons, night herons and eagles. The lush broad-leaved vegetation on both sides of the lake is very well protected; the crystal clear mountain streams flow gently, and the beautiful water of the lake is like a mirror reflecting the blue sky, white clouds and lush green trees. Because this is not the main sailing route of Qiandao Lake, there are only a few local fishing boats that leave early and return late every day, and the verdant hills on both sides of the lake are seldom visited by people. Without human disturbance, and not far from Xin'an River Dam, the rapids of the main river on the right side of the reservoir bay are blocked by the dam, forming a backwater area that has brought about rich fish resources.
These little creatures are nesting, courting and reproducing in the trees on both sides of this quiet and rich lake. And the beautiful shores of Qiandao Lake have become a paradise for them. I have been there to watch birds no less than 10 times. I even took my kid to the lake in a summer vacation to watch birds, explain to him knowledge about birds and how to understand, love and protect them. Previously, after going down to the lake, in less than 2 minutes, you would see countless grey herons standing on the branches of the trees on both sides of the lake but that day, it was very strange. None was seen. Our boat kept moving on the lake. After 10 minutes and 20 minutes, still we saw no single bird. When our boat was getting close to the dam, my friend Laofang told me to turn to the left bay and it looked like today's bird watching turned into bird discovering. And there was none in the left bay as well. So we decided to leave. Then suddenly, I turned around and saw a group of birds soar to the sky from a small hill behind the dam. I shouted to Laofang: “Get back to the dam.” It turned out that there were strong winds on the lake that day, and the herons all gathered in the hill where there was sunshine and shelter from the wind. That day, we held up our cameras for so long that our arms were sore and pressed the shutter button so many times that our fingers were soft. There were not many good photos but it was really a happy day.
The most visited place for me to photograph birds is Anyang Wetland. It is about 28 km along Chunyang Line, the most beautiful road in Qiandao Lake. There is a bridge named Baixiangwan Bridge over Wuxi River and the road meanders all the way to the west between hills and turbulent waves. Under the bridge is the wetland covering an area of over 165 acres. Many water birds live there, including egrets, kingfishers and cormorants. With picturesque scenery, it is a great scenic spot to visit. I also photographed the oriental stork, known as the “panda of birds,” and a group of migrating mandarin ducks for the first time here.
Qiandao Lake is a good place for people to live and work, and also a paradise for birds. As ordinary photography enthusiasts, we should start from loving and protecting birds, in order to photograph them around us. I respect these little creatures because they are life like us.
Source: Zhang Wei 张伟